The invention relates to wireless LAN (local area network), and more particularly, to systems and methods for smooth handoff in secured wireless LANs.
In a wireless LAN, a mobile node (MN) associates with an access point (AP) and exchanges data and voice packets with a corresponding node (CN) via the associated AP. When the MN is moving out of range from one AP and can get a better radio link from another AP, a handoff procedure is performed to transfer an ongoing call or data session from the associated AP to the other AP (referred to as the target AP). The handoff procedure requires time to perform authentication, authorization and assignment of data encryption key for the target AP. As a result, some packets including data and voice packets may be lost during the handoff procedure, reducing the quality of data or voice transmission.